


A Long Night

by skeleton_girl



Category: A Way Out (Video Game)
Genre: AU where Vincent is actually a criminal, Alcohol, And a new tag for chapter 2:, M/M, Vinceo - Freeform, Vomiting, can be seen as shippy or not your choice, inspired mostly by the idea of leo having to be the responsible one for once, just as a heads up, the "theRE's oNLy onE BEd?!" trope
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-02
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-09-05 22:07:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16819399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skeleton_girl/pseuds/skeleton_girl
Summary: Vincent thinks he knows someone who might have info on Harvey, and Leo agrees to help him look into it - if help means "sit in a car for two hours with nothing to do." Meanwhile, Vincent gets distracted from the task at hand, and Leo has to be the responsible one of the two for the first time.





	1. The Plan

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place before the interrogation scene in-game. Also, it's safe to assume that anything I write for this game takes place in an AU where Vincent is actually a criminal. Hope you enjoy!

Leo was getting bored.

He and Vincent had arrived at the Runaway Bar & Grill a couple of hours ago - Leo immediately remarking on how appropriate the name was - in a car they had stolen just hours before that. Vincent explained that one of his old collegues alongside Harvey used to come here often, and that he might have some information on his location. Leo agreed to check Vincent's source first, since the day was starting to draw to a close and his family was still several miles away, but he wasn't happy about being stuck outside in the car. He was even less happy that Vincent had somehow convinced him to keep watch out here, instead of going inside where he could warm up and grab a drink. The dim lighting and sounds of small talk coming from the bar were all too inviting right now. Still, he tried to focus on the task at hand.

Vincent had given him a description of the man they were looking for. He was tall ("even taller than you, Leo,") but scrawny, with long black hair that he kept in a ponytail, and a clean-shaven face.

"His name's Maurice," Vincent had told him, but if the plan went smoothly, Leo wouldn't have to interact with the man at all. The goal was for Vincent to find Maurice, convince him that he needed to talk to Harvey, and once he got the information they needed, he'd meet Leo back at the car. Leo's job was much less interesting - all he had to do was sit in the car and keep an eye out in case things went south. Two hours in, and he hadn't seen anyone resembling Maurice enter the bar.

Leo couldn't stop fidgeting. He turned the car on and changed the channels on the radio, hoping to find something interesting enough to keep him occupied, but it was no use. He took the keys, stepped out of the car, and made his way inside, brushing past three people who stumbled out, drunkenly laughing.

\---

Vincent waited for hours, but there was still no sign of Maurice. He had tried asking the bartender if he'd seen him recently, knowing that Maurice was a regular at this establishment, but he said he hadn't seen him in some time. Still, Vincent wanted to be sure, so he decided to stay for a while. It was early in the night when they arrived, and there was a chance the bartender knew about Maurice's criminal record, and didn't want to give out information. Vincent passed up a few offers for a drink, insisting that he was just here to talk to Maurice, and that he'd be out of their hair shortly. After about half an hour, he agreed to another round, and tried talking to other patrons at the bar, subtly slipping relevant questions into their conversation. A few friends who had arrived together enjoyed his company offered to buy him another drink, a bit tipsy themselves. Vincent told them he was fine with what he'd had, but they insisted. Outnumbered three to one, Vincent found another glass sitting in front of him, and three acquaintances acting like they'd known him for years.

He checked the clock. He'd only been there a little over an hour, and there was still a chance that Maurice could show up. He decided that Leo could handle waiting another hour, and tried to casually question more of the attendants at the bar. After a while, it got harder for him to concentrate on the task at hand. It was so much easier to relax in the warm, dimly lit atmosphere of the bar than it was to stay alert, and the beers he'd had were working through his system. When the bartender filled his almost-empty glass, he knew it would be better to decline the offer, but he told himself it would be better if he relaxed, and acted casual until Maurice arrived so he didn't raise any suspicions. He and Leo were a step ahead of the news, but only barely, and drawing any attention to themselves could be disastrous.

Which is how, after two hours of useless conversation and several glasses of beer, Vincent all but forgot about Leo waiting in the car, and the man he'd come here to talk to.

\---

As Leo pushed open the door to the bar, the faint jingle of a bell sounded. He met the gaze of the bartender, who looked up at the sound and smiled in his direction. Taking a few more steps forward, Leo glanced around the room. There were a few people sitting at the bar nursing drinks without making conversation, a jukebox in the back that was quietly playing a song Leo hadn't heard before, and several people at tables scattered across the room.

"Seems like we came on a busy night," he thought to himself. He noticed as the bartender waved him over, and walked up to the bar.

"Good evening, what can I get for you?" the man said pleasantly.

"Look, as much as I'd love a drink, I don't really have the time," Leo said. "I'm looking for a friend."

"You the Maurice that guy has been asking about all night?" The bartender asked.

"Uh, yeah," Leo lied, figuring it would be easier than explaining himself. "That's me."

"He's at that table back there," the bartender said, and pointed to the back of the room, where Leo could see Vincent sitting alone, with one hand on a half-empty glass. "Good luck getting any sense out of him."

"What do you mean?" Leo asked. He knew exactly what the bartender meant, but found it hard to believe that Vincent would be the one of the two of them to get incoherently drunk.

"He made friends with those folks who just left," the bartender explained. "They insisted on buying him a couple of rounds."

"Thanks," Leo said curtly, unable to hide his annoyance at the situation.

"Of course," said the bartender, and set back to work.

"Vincent, what the hell are you doing?" Leo said, walking up to the table Vincent was sitting at.

"Leo!" Vincent responded, and Leo was taken aback at how relaxed he seemed. Vincent actually had a small smile on his lips when he looked up at him from his seat.

"Why are you here? I haven't talked to Maurice yet." Leo noted the slur in Vincent's speech and gritted his teeth in frustration.

"Have you just been drinking this whole time?" He asked. He noticed his voice raising, and lowered it to a hushed, but still angry, volume. "I've been sitting out there for two fuckin' hours waiting for you!"

"Has it been that long?" Vincent asked, and realized he hadn't checked the time in a while. His eyes wandered to a clock on the far wall - sure enough, it was nearly midnight, and there weren't nearly as many customers as there were when he'd arrived.

"Shit. I thought..." His sentence trailed off as he realized how careless he'd gotten.

"You can explain yourself to me later," Leo said. He grabbed Vincent by one arm and pulled him up out of his chair. "After I get some sleep. I'm fuckin' tired."

"Yeah," Vincent responded. He was suddenly aware of how tired he was too, and how much he had to lean on the table for support after Leo pulled him up.

"C'mon, let's go," Leo said, and started walking in the direction of the bar. Vincent followed suit, tripping on his own feet a couple of times before Leo noticed how unstable he was. He let out a heavy sigh, walked back to Vincent and propped one of Vincent's arms on his shoulders for support.

"Here," Leo said to the bartender. He slid a couple dollars on to the counter. "Thanks for keepin' an eye on him."

"Of course." The bartender replied, sticking the dollars into a pocket on his shirt. "You two have a good night," he said as Leo pushed open the door, and the two stepped into the cool night air as the doorbell rang above them.


	2. The New Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vincent immediately regrets his decisions. Luckily for him, Leo's pretty forgiving.

"I can't believe you made me wait for two hours just for you to get drunk."

Leo was at the wheel of the car, trying to keep himself from speeding down the highway. He was pissed off, but he didn't want to listen to Vincent try to explain himself yet. All he could think about was finding a place with a comfortable bed to crash in for the night, while Vincent slept off the effects of the beer he'd had.

"Leo, I didn't..." Vincent started. He tried to think of what he could say to ease the conversation, but found himself at a rare loss for words. The addition of the moving car and the lights rushing by made it even harder to think.

"Look, I don't wanna hear it," Leo said. "You can explain what the hell you think that was in the morning, after we find a hotel and get some fuckin' sleep."

"A hotel?" Vincent said. "Isn't that-"

"None of those people recognized you as a wanted criminal, I think we'll be fine for one night," Leo said. "Besides, I haven't slept on a comfortable bed in six months."

After that they didn't talk for a while, with only the radio softly playing music to fill the silence. Vincent tried to close his eyes and ignore how the passing lights made his head spin, and how every bump in the road made his stomach churn, but he knew he couldn't keep it up. He just had to hope that Leo would find a hotel before he puked up everything he'd had that night.

He was about to ask Leo to pull over before he ruined the floor of the car when he spoke.

"Finally." Vincent turned to look out the window. To their right was a motel, with the vacancy light turned on. As Leo turned in to the parking lot, Vincent had to brace himself against the dashboard with one arm. He swallowed hard, forcing down the rising feeling in his throat. Leo pulled in to a parking spot a little haphazardly and leaned over to talk to Vincent.

"Okay, let's g-" But he stopped mid-sentence as Vincent threw open the passenger door and heaved over the side.

"Ah, shit." He stepped out and made his way around the front of the car to Vincent's side. Of all the problems they could have while hunting down Harvey, he didn't expect taking care of a drunken Vincent to be one of them.

"Hey," he said, watching his step as he got closer to put a hand on his back. "You good?" Vincent raised a hand, pointer finger extended.

"One second," he said. He took a few breaths, pressing his palms into his knees. "Okay. Okay, I think I'm good."

"Let's go then," Leo said, surprisingly calm and quiet in comparison to earlier in the night. He gave Vincent his hand and helped pull him up, the two of them stumbling to the front doors of the motel. The receptionist, a young woman with curled red hair, smiled gently at them from the counter. Leo explained that they would just be staying for the night and asked for the cheapest room they had.

"Here's your key," she said. "Your room is on the first level, number 20." She gestured to a window through which the room was visible.

"Thanks," Leo said, trying to be polite despite the urgency he felt to leave. As he and Vincent stumbled outside again she called,

"You two have a good night!"

\---

Leo unlocked the door and flicked on the lights. The room was small, with an open closet holding a few hangers, a door leading to a blue-tinted bathroom, an armchair, and a TV sitting across from the only bed, which itself was pretty small. Vincent took a step ahead, catching Leo by surprise.

"Woah, take it easy man," he said, grabbing his elbow to steady him. Vincent put a hand over his mouth and lurched forward a bit, and Leo didn't need any more reason to guide him through the bathroom door. His frustration with Vincent was almost nonexistent now, replaced with concern and the exhaustion that was taking over him. Vincent seemed to barely be aware of his presence, understandably, as he bent over the toilet, emptying his stomach. Leo couldn't help feeling awkward standing there with nothing helpful to offer, but he did remember seeing a vending machine in the lobby.

"I'll be right back," he said. He began to step out before he turned and pointed a finger at Vincent "Don't move." He double checked his pockets for change before leaving the room, heading to the lobby. The receptionist smiled at him again when he walked in, then turned to look back at some papers in her hand. Leo grabbed a couple bottles of water from the vending machine and, after a moment of thought, a candy bar that he unwrapped and started to eat on the walk back. When he stepped through the door, he noticed Vincent standing at the sink, leaning on his forearms as he washed his face. He set one of the bottles on a nightstand by the bed and took the other to the doorway.

"I thought I told you not to move," he teased. Vincent didn't respond.

"I uh, grabbed some water. Thought it might help."

Vincent rubbed his face with one hand and took the water Leo offered with the other.

"Thanks." He clumsily uncapped the lid, more than a little embarrassed at how long it took him to get it open, and took a drink.

"I'm really sorry about all of this, Leo."

"It's fine, just... look, if you wanted to get drunk, you could've told me."

"It's not what I intended to do," Vincent took a breath. "I didn't expect things to go the way they did... shit, I wouldn't have blamed you if you just left me there. Someone could have recognized us-" He swallowed, still recovering from his nausea.

"Don't sweat it, okay?" Leo said. "Besides, even if someone recognized you, I would've backed you up like we planned."

Vincent didn't know how to respond to how nice Leo was being. He'd expected him to be angry - Vincent certainly would be if he was in his shoes. He supposed Leo was just better than him at improvising when something unexpected happened.

Leo sensed the lull in their conversation and turned back in to the bedroom as he spoke.

"I'm gonna see what's on TV, you coming?"

"Yeah, uh, gimme a couple minutes," Vincent responded.

\---

When Vincent stepped out of the bathroom, Leo was sitting in the armchair, one hand holding the TV remote. He seemed bored - the only mildly interesting thing on TV being a cooking show - and Vincent realized just how tired he looked.

"Not going to sleep?" He asked.

"Eh, eventually," Leo said. "Still kind of on edge, you know?"

"Yeah," Vincent responded. He walked to the foot of the bed, using the wall as support, and sat down next to Leo. For once, he was able to look down at him from a few inches above.

"Besides," Leo continued, "you probably need that more than I do now." He elbowed the mattress at his side.

"You're the one who wanted to sleep in a motel," Vincent argued, again shocked by Leo's generosity. "Like you said, it's been six months since you slept in a real bed."

"What's another day?" Leo asked. He stretched and slumped further into the chair. "Besides, this thing is already more comfortable than those cots."

Vincent wasn't sure if he was hearing him correctly. Leo, who's constantly complaining about his feet hurting, how cold it is, or any other minor inconvenience, insisting on taking the less comfortable spot to sleep?

"Who are you and what have you done with Leo?" Vincent asked, and he recieved a quiet laugh from Leo in return. Vincent dropped back against the bed and looked up at the ceiling. The two sat in silence for a minute, some famous chef on the TV talking about the best way to cook chicken. The ceiling reflected the light off the screen in mesmerizing patterns. After a comfortable pause, Vincent leaned forward again.

"You're gonna go blind if you sit that close to the screen."

"Really?" Leo said sarcastically.

"Yep," Vincent replied.

"I didn't realize you were a doctor."

"I just have common sense."

"Hey, don't forget my common sense is what got our asses here," Leo said.

"I haven't." Another long pause.

"So?" Vincent said. Leo sighed.

"Will you shut up if I sit up there?"

"Maybe."

Leo peeled himself out of the armchair and sat down on the bed next to Vincent, leaning against the headboard. The two of them made a crater in the weak mattress. Leo opened the water bottle he'd set on the nightstand, and the two of them sat in silence for a bit, sipping on their drinks.

"Hey, Leo," Vincent said.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"Like I said, don't worry about it," Leo said, putting a hand on his shoulder. He let it sit there, and Vincent almost asked if he had forgotten to pull away, but decided against it. It was comforting, and he wondered if Leo needed that as much as he did. After some time, he felt Leo's hand slip a little and looked over to see that he had fallen asleep, leaning slightly in Vincent's direction, his head rolled forward. Vincent couldn't help but smile at the sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters down, one to go! The final chapter will be posted tomorrow :^)


	3. Sleeping In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leo and Vincent get a much needed moment of rest before they have to hit the road again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the support you've given me on this fic! I was pretty nervous when I posted the first chapter since I've never posted fanfic before, but you guys have all been so great. This last chapter is a little on the short side, but I'm sure I'll have more to write for this fandom soon!

Leo woke up first, as rays of sunlight shone through cracks in the shades. It took him a second to remember where he was. What time was it? He started to lean forward, but realized there was weight on his left arm. At some point Vincent had rolled over on top of it, facing towards him, and Leo could feel his arm tingling from being stuck there for god knows how long. The culprit was fast asleep, snoring slightly. His breath was a mix of morning breath and alcohol from the night before, and Leo crinkled his nose at it. Still, he looked so peaceful, and Leo didn't have the heart to wake him up by rolling out of bed, so he stayed where he was, buring his face a little further into the pillows.

"My fuckin' arm's gonna turn blue before he wakes up," he thought to himself. Luckily, Vincent rolled over in his sleep before that happened, and Leo was able to pull his arm out from under him without waking him up. He took a drink from one of the water bottles, freshened himself up in front of the bathroom mirror, and decided to head to the lobby to grab some corn nuts from the vending machine. He was starving, but until he and Vincent got some more cash, he didn't want to spend what little they had left on breakfast. As he walked across the parking lot to the lobby, however, it seemed like the odds were in their favor for once. There was a sign on one of the windows that he missed the night before:

Free continental breakfast!

\---

Vincent woke up to a flick on the nose.

He instinctively swung an arm out at his assailant, but Leo was expecting a reaction like that, and was already leaning out of range. Vincent sat up and massaged the bridge of his nose, dreading the headache that was already coming on.

"What the hell was that?"

"Breakfast is served," Leo said. He took a seat at the edge of the bed, turning on the TV and flipping through the channels. The smells of coffee and bacon wafted in Vincent's direction, and sure enough, on the nightstand was a plate with a slapped together breakfast and a cup of black coffee.

"Thanks," Vincent said, reaching to grab the plate. "Shit, it feels like I slept on a rock."

"I wonder why," Leo thought.

Vincent looked around for a clock on one of the walls. The time read 10:15.

"Geez, I haven't slept in this late in a long time," he remarked, before taking a bite of one of the biscuits on his plate.

"Me neither," Leo said. "We should probably leave soon."

"Yeah."

They sat in silence for a moment as Leo flipped through the channels, until he eventually reached the local news channel.

"-itives on the run. If you see either one of these men, please contact the authorities immediately."

"Ah, shit," Vincent said.

"Guess we're leaving now, huh?"

"Looks like it." Leo looked sadly at his plate.

"I didn't even get to finish my breakfast."

"You can eat it in the car, I'll drive."

"Sounds good to me."


End file.
